A ‘braw pair o’ o’er muckle breeks’ is how the Scots would describe this item in our collection, since they are indeed ‘a fine pair of rather large trousers’. They were issued to Peter Hisset when he worked down in Antarctica for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in the late 1970s and are probably best described as ‘sledging trousers’. They were made large on purpose so that they could be pulled on over ski boots and other clothing as an outer layer to keep out the cold wind – though this pair does seem to be rather too large!

We’re not 100% sure, but think the material is Ventile and as we can see from the label, a firm called Compass made them back in 1977. As they were rather too large for Pete, he never wore them which has left them in pristine condition -thanks Pete.